Wow! BlackBerry® DevCon Americas 2011 was one heck of a busy week for the Developer Relations team, and we’re sure the same thing can be said for attendees. BlackBerry DevCon Americas 2011 featured: an action-packed general session keynote; oodles of announcements (see below); App Express stations for Android™ developers to quickly get their apps ported to the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet; recognition awards for outstanding BlackBerry developers; Breakout and Ask the Experts sessions for one-on-one time with BlackBerry development experts; special BBM™ Hackathon events just for BlackBerry DevCon Americas 2011 attendees; and our biggest BlackBerry DevCon TweetUp ever! Oh, and did I forget to mention we gave every attendee a free BlackBerry PlayBook tablet with the option to load the BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 Developer Beta build?

For those who were unable to attend BlackBerry DevCon Americas 2011 in person, here’s a brief overview of some of the DevCon-related announcements you’ll want to catch up on.

Mobile apps in the corporate environment are more creative and influential than ever, helping businesses work faster, more profitably, and with the kind of efficiency that others envy. Here’s why we think attending BlackBerry® DevCon Americas 2011 can help your corporation go even further and do even more.

1. Understand more about the tools and options. Many of the sessions at the show are designed to increase your know-how and skill base, such as:

3. Train with the best. Sign up for training sessions on using Adobe® Flex®, Adobe® AIR® and BlackBerry® WebWorks™ to build apps for the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet. Both one-day courses are offered on Monday, October 17 from 9 am to 5 pm and cost $499 USD.

5. Get one-stop access to everything and everyone to do with BlackBerry. Weeks of learning on your own can’t compare to three focused days where everything about the BlackBerry platform and technologies and corporate development is in one place. The sessions, labs, speakers, experts and networking opportunities are all here. If you need to tell your boss why you should attend, we’ve made it easy by summarizing it all with this Convince Your Boss Letter!

]]>http://blogs.blackberry.com/2011/09/develop-enterprise-apps-devcon/feed/0sarbur1BlackBerry DevCon Americas 2011Interview with Alec Saunders, VP of Developer Relations and Ecosystem Developmenthttp://blogs.blackberry.com/2011/09/alec-saunders-interview/
http://blogs.blackberry.com/2011/09/alec-saunders-interview/#respondWed, 28 Sep 2011 21:28:06 +0000http://blogs.blackberry.com/?p=11300]]>The Inside BlackBerry Developer’s Blog talked with Alec Saunders, RIM’s vice president of Developer Relations and Ecosystem Development the other day about his vision and plans for the BlackBerry developer platform and ecosystem going forward. Alec recently joined the RIM team with the mandate to drive growth for RIM’s BBOS QNX powered BlackBerry platforms and build a thriving developer community around them.

Here’s what the Inside BlackBerry Developer’s Blog (IBBDB) learned.

IBBDB: Congratulations, Alec, and welcome to the RIM team.

Thank you. I’m thrilled to be here.

IBBDB: Tell our readers a little bit about yourself.

I’ve been in technology for over 20 years now. I’m a University of Waterloo graduate (1987) and I’ve spent most of my time working with software developers in various roles throughout my career – first at Microsoft, and then as VP of marketing of QNX Software Systems – which is the embedded operating system company that created the OS for the next generation of BlackBerry devices. In 2002, I went to Versatel Networks, a company that built a platform that allowed software developers to create compelling voice applications that ran in telephone networks, and in 2003, I struck out on my own with a friend and mentor, Howard Thaw, to build a company called iotum inc., which we conceived, financed, staffed, and launched successfully. At the beginning of this year, I went to my board and asked them to find a new CEO. After eight years I wanted a change, and I felt the company needed a really strong sales oriented CEO. So I offered to help find a new CEO, and in June we brought in the new guy, and I started looking for something new. I went looking for something that would allow me to return to what I love doing most, and that is working with developers.

And of all the opportunities I looked at, RIM was the most exciting to me.

IBBDB: What makes it so exciting for you to join RIM?

I’ll take you back to the late 90’s for a second, my first encounter with BlackBerry, or at least, what would become BlackBerry. It was Las Vegas, CES, and there I was in the back of a cab trying to get a press release edited … on a RIM pager. It was cool. I’d never seen anything like it and the promise of being able to do email wirelessly was mind blowing. Pretty soon tons of people on the Microsoft corporate campus were carrying one. And over the last decade, since that time, RIM has expanded to 175 countries, and its products are distributed by over 600 carriers across the globe and all from that start with the RIM Inter@ctive Pager. Despite the intensely competitive market out there, RIM continues to pull down huge numbers: 150 million devices RIM has shipped to date, 70 million subscribers on RIM’s network today, over 1 billion app downloads (increasing at 120 million per month) since BlackBerry App World launched.

All of that adds up to a huge opportunity for our partners, for developers … There’s no reason why developers shouldn’t be able to make a great living just by serving BlackBerry customers. And my team’s job is to make it as attractive, easy and fun as possible for developers to build for the BlackBerry platform – smartphones and tablet alike.

Meeting with BlackBerry Developer Group Managers from around the world at a special reception in The View lounge on the 39th floor of the Marriott Marquis. The managers also shared their experience and tips for launching groups at a special community session.

At a special evening event, we highlighted some of our favorite Super Apps from the 2010 BlackBerry Partners Fund Developer Challenge (go here to enter the 2011 challenge!)

Your feedback from BlackBerry DEVCON 2010 is embedded in every aspect of the BlackBerry DEVCON Americas plan. One significant way we’ve implemented your feedback is that the conference is now three days instead of four – although we’ve kept the very best of the fourth day’s content in special community sessions throughout the event. That said, what else do you want to see at BlackBerry DEVCON Americas 2011? Let us know your ideas in the comments below!

We’re committed to making BlackBerry DEVCON Americas 2011 the biggest and best yet, and are excited to be offering great deals on our conference access, as well as alumni and hotel discounts. In order to give everyone the opportunity to register at our early bird rate (only $699 plus tax) we are extending this offer until August 26th – register now!

We are thrilled to announce that registration for BlackBerry® DEVCON Americas is open! BlackBerry DEVCON Americas – taking place October 18-20, 2011 at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis in San Francisco, California – reflects our commitment to make this an incredible event for developers from across North America and Latin America. In fact, we have re-opened the BlackBerry DEVCON Americas Call For Papers for developers in Latin America until May 30th; we are looking to have sessions presented in Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese.

Early Bird registration for BlackBerry DEVCON Americas is only $699 USD, or $599 USD for our qualifying 2010 event alumni. This is our best registration offer ever (35% less than last year!) and represents incredible value to attendees. Also, this deal can be combined this with a special early-bird 4th-night-free offer for even more savings. Please hurry as these early bird offers end June 24th – register now! We also have special registration pricing for students ($199 USD) and faculty ($399 USD). All prices are subject to applicable taxes; please see the applicable terms and conditions.

We are also excited to announce the first ever BlackBerry DEVCON Europe as well as the second edition of BlackBerry DEVCON Asia, which builds on the success of its debut event earlier this year! We are opening the Call For Papers for BlackBerry DEVCON Europe and BlackBerry DEVCON Asia from May 2nd to June 24th. We are expecting great submissions for both events – make sure you stay tuned here for more information on dates and locations!

These events offer the best opportunity for BlackBerry platform developers – learn more about all three events at the official BlackBerry DEVCON website.